“……Jackpot.”

I subconsciously mumbled and urgently closed my mouth.

My heart was flapping around like a just-caught halibut, but the seer’s silver eyes did not shake.

It meant that he was serious about what he just said.

Sir Johann, who had been silently standing behind me, walked up next to me.

His tone was extremely low.

“Captain, I understand you being wary of his highness, however, I cannot accept you belittling him. Are the Fleur-de-lis treated like members of the Imperial family in Riester?”

– Swoooooooosh!

The wind let out a sharp roar as it made the young seer’s hair and clothes flutter wildly.

Bacary didn’t even blink an eye at the Holy Knight’s explicit threat and continued to stare at me.

Slash! There was a sharp noise and a small injury appeared on the young boy’s cheek.

I gasped in shock and stopped Sir Johann.

“Sir Johann, please don’t hurt him.”

“I’m sorry, your highness. I made a mistake.”

His eyes instantly curled up and he withdrew.

‘Can a Cardinal-level Holy Knight make a mistake with controlling their strength too……?’

That odd question came to mind but I nodded my head and opened a healing circle.

Ooooooooong! The roar of the sky-colored ether made the Captain scowl.

“I do not need it. I do not make prophecies to receive goodwill.”

“I am not doing this out of goodwill. I am trying to take responsibility for my friend making a mistake.”

“……”

The little kid became quiet once I said that.

It was just a superficial cut but blood was still forming on it.

The words I had just heard continued to echo in my ears.

I watched as the blue ether pebbles gathered on his young face and cautiously asked.

“Can you really see Dame Sarnez’s fate?”

“……Yes, your highness. Dame Sarnez is already an important person but she is someone who will become even more important in the future.”

“What a great prophecy. You are truly skilled, Captain Bacary.”

I answered as if I was bewitched. The eyes underneath his round glasses started frowning.

“This is not something for you to be happy about, your highness. It will not come true if you remain by her side. Prince Jesse, you are someone who makes all revelations go awry.”

“……”

‘So that is why he glared at me like that. Because my future is opaque.

Mm, it is ambiguous.’

“That is why I said to know your place. I have a duty to warn the involved parties.”

This might be eerie and scary for someone else to hear, but I could completely understand what Bacary just said.

I was the only ‘foreigner’ in this place.

It was, in some ways, inevitable that an existence who came from outside the novel would change the fates of the characters.

In addition, I did not know much about the contents of QNW.

I was doing my best to connect the main characters together, but there was a limit because I couldn’t force them to be with each other despite their current negative feelings.

While that was going on, I always played a part in any unexpected situations that arose.

I wanted to ignore a lot of them but could not do so because a lot of them involved the old, the weak, or animals.

Anybody in my position would have acted the same way.

“Little Bacary.”

‘Then this guy…… Can he see the details of the original novel as prophecies?

Is his accuracy falling because I am not a part of the original novel?’

“Excuse me for asking this, but I must ask you for a favor.”

“I am not someone who receives commissions.”

“I am aware of that. However, you…… It is because you have such a great ability.”

‘If your specialty is what I think it is.’ I kept those words to myself.

The young boy’s eyes slightly shook.

“If it is not too difficult, could you please let me know whenever you have any important revelations regarding Dame Sarnez or his Royal Highness?”

“……”

I realized that this was an unreasonable request once I said it out loud.

Prophecies were a form of personal information.

Even if it was not 100 percent accurate, he should not reveal information about someone’s future to a third party.

The Captain’s face was turning stiff. I immediately rephrased my request.

“I am not asking you to tell me as if you were reporting to her Majesty. I am also not saying that I want to hear all of your prophecies about that. It’s just that, as the two of their close friend…… I just want to help them if they may end up in danger. And, as you mentioned, remove myself from situations where I should not be present.”

“If the two of them wish for that.”

Sir Johann suddenly interjected. I smiled bitterly and nodded my head.

The Captain’s cheek was completely healed.

The circle slowly started to dissipate after having completed its mission. I quickly added on.

“I will not ask you for it if it makes you uncomfortable.”

“……You are not in a position to force something like that on me anyway, your highness. I am her Majesty’s magic tool.”

Bacary quietly answered.

I understood that I could not get such information so easily, but my heart still sank.

‘Did he just call himself a magic tool?’

“I apologize if I made you feel like you were a tool. I did not mean to hurt you.”

“It does not matter.”

“I apologize.”

“……”

I sincerely apologized but the Captain silently bit his lips and respectfully bowed.

He then quickly walked over and got back on his carriage.

‘Young master-nim, you are friends with the revered Prince Jesse?’ I heard someone ask him.

Slam! The door closed and the horses started moving.

I reflected on my actions as I watched the carriage disappear into a deep area of the Lord’s Castle.

“……I made a slip of the tongue. I think he will hate me a lot.”

‘He probably didn’t have much positive thoughts about me if I make his revelations uncertain.’

I thought that this conversation just now would have made him hate me more.

A cool main character of a webnovel might find a way to use anybody and anyone, but I was not a main character and this place was my reality.

It was difficult to be shameless against a person who called himself a tool.

“I’m not so sure about that, Your highness. My thoughts are a bit different.”

A breeze-like voice spoke as if to console me.

The holy stone marble ended up as dust in Sir Johann’s fist.

‘He broke it before we could do anything.’

“It looks like it’ll be soon for the Captain as well. I think it’ll be about three months for him to go over.”

“Go over where?”

He put a refreshing smile on his face and pointed toward the spire instead of answering my question.

I wanted to do some tests on holy stones since we were out but I was upset and wanted to see our little bundles of joy as well.

I accepted his escort and walked up the stairs.

I did not feel good thinking that I said something I should not have said to a kid who was about Eunseo’s age.

*

The next day. September 30th.

“Maybe we shouldn’t have come so early. I couldn’t even eat because I was so excited.”

“I went to the Spring Ball as well but I think this one will be more entertaining. Masquerades have their own flair.”

“Have you heard the rumors? I heard that young lady Eva Blanquer is supposed to push her brother aside and become the young Duchess today.”

Nobles were walking back and forth down the wide hallways of the Blanquer Lord’s Castle while talking loudly.

Attendants carrying large masks and accessories followed behind them.

The largest ballroom in the castle will open in one hour and the greatest Beau Monde celebration in the eastern part of the Empire will start.

The Imperial Crown Prince and his friends as well as the cream of the crop of the Empire, the Pair de Riester, will all gather for this celebration.

These people who were dreaming of new scandals and gossip were heating up the castle.

The servants were moving around extremely busily to prepare food, drinks, and move the bags of the nobles.

“……”

‘Young Duke’ Robert Blanquer used that time to quietly hide in a corner of the hallway.

Shadows are going to be darker the brighter the light.

Nobody was there to keep an eye on all openings in the castle and there were lots of places to hide thanks to the luxurious decorations all around.

Nobody knew that he, who had been locked up in a villa in a corner of the territory while burning up with rage and shame, was here right now.

The man had purposely exaggerated a limp and cried in front of the only person who was still by his side, his wet nurse.

‘I want to see my little sister,’ ‘what can I do with my body being like this,’ and tried to appeal to her emotions.

The frail woman could not handle the childish young master’s tears.

The wet nurse snuck a horse out of the villa at dusk and handed him a few gold coins as he left.

‘You must leave at midnight, young master-nim. The Knight Captain will be back early tomorrow morning.’

His wet nurse’s insistence echoed in his mind. He was well-aware of it as well.

The Knight Captain of the territory, who used to come only once a week, suddenly barged into the villa last night and reported that he would now start seeing Robert daily.

The Knight Captain said it was his mother’s orders, but the situation was obvious.

It meant that they were going to keep a tighter watch on him because the masquerade was to happen. And that……

“I’m curious about his Royal Highness but also extremely curious about Prince Jesse as well. Isn’t this his highness’s first masquerade in the Empire?”

“Seriously. I will swipe him away to the balcony if I find out his disguise.”

“Oh my goodness, Countess! Are you finally planning on taking on a husband?”

‘Wahahaha!’ Loud laughters burst out on the other side of the hallway.

The young Duke crawled behind a decorative armor and clenched his teeth.

That lowly Prince must have been like a fox whispering in his mother’s years.

He was basically a spy of an enemy kingdom.

Not only did Prince Jesse seduce the Crown prince to make him infamous and give him a scar, trick his younger sister to take his place, he was now trying to mess with his relationship with his parents as well.

The young Duke clenched his right fist that had lost all feeling since that duel.

Rustle. The small piece of paper screamed in his hand. There was only a short message on it.

‘Come with a disguise if you wish to get revenge.’

It was a mysterious letter that was found a while back on his bed.

The person must have used their non-dominant hand as the handwriting crawled like worms.

He bugged his wet nurse and his servants about it but nobody said that they ever saw that piece of paper before.

At first, he thought one of the lowly staff did this to rile him up and mock him.

So he threw it into the furnace.

However, the same note was on his bed the next day and the day after that as well.

The third note had an unfamiliar sentence added on.

‘For the roots of the tulip to rot.’

“I’m not an idiot.”

The young Duke mumbled. He really was not.

He was the first-born of a well-educated family and knew that tulips symbolized priests or holiness.

There was only one priest in this world that he would want to get revenge on.

Jesse Venetiaan.

“I’m certain that his highness will be disguised as an angel. How can he not after what he did on the eve of his Royal Highness’s succession confirmation ceremony?”

“Do you really think so? Isn’t that too obvious?”

“I’m sure his disguise will be magnificent no matter what it is since he is coming as young lady Blanquer’s partner.”

The nobles chatted away as they walked. Grind. He couldn’t help but grind his teeth.

– Clunk, bang!

He snatched the armor as soon as people disappeared.

This was enough as a disguise.

He would have fun and play if this was just someone messing with him but he would grab it right away if this really was an opportunity.

*

It was finally the day of the masquerade!

Ganael and Vice Captain Élisabeth, who were disguised as a lion and a clown, headed toward the central tower about ten minutes ago.

The young Countess was Ganael’s partner and chaperon today while my chaperon was Benjamin.

Sir Johann was my guard as planned as well.

– Click click

“Aigoo.”

“That’s okay, your highness. It is not that loud to the people next to you.”

Benjamin encouraged me. I smiled awkwardly and headed down to the lobby with the two of them.

My footsteps were light despite being in armor but it was not easy to get used to my footsteps.

Having my view covered by the black mask and veil was uncomfortable as well.

My experiences with balls were nonexistent other than peeking in the Spring Ball, so I was shaking a lot as well.

‘Will people really not recognize me?’ Having such thoughts made the corners of my lips twitch.

– Aaaaarf

“Our Tithé recognized his big bro.”

Tithé, who was swimming in the cistern in the lobby, greeted me outside the water.

I made eye contact with him and greeted him back.

I gave Percy and the red pandas a lot of hugs before I left the room but it was disappointing that I could not give the harp seal a hug.

Tithé was smart and did not splash me with water. He just gently waved his flipper.

I think he was telling me to go have fun.

“Yeah, I’ll be back early. You have fun playing tag with the fish, swimming around in your favorite backstroke, playing with the coral……”

I trailed off while looking past the corals.

On the other side of the water tank where blue and yellow fish were swimming was a man wearing a completely white uniform with a white mask.

His silver hair was very long, and, taking a closer look, he had large white wings on his back.

The man also had his eyes covered by a veil so I could not check the color of his eyes.

He was very tall like the crown prince but I felt like our gazes crossed for a moment.

I became anxious and my mouth opened and closed with the fish.

“Excuse me, you can’t just come in here……”

‘Actually no.’

They had opened up the lobby until three steps away from the water tank for the nobles who wanted to come greet the divine beast.

– Splash! I felt like I could hear the person sigh despite Tithé’s tail splashing water.

“Your highness, I’m here! Gasp.”

Eva’s distinct voice echoed in the lobby at that moment.

I became shocked after hearing her call me your highness and quickly moved back.

‘Damn it, I worked so hard to wear this disguise but I think an angel might have already figured out who I am!’

—
Translator’s Comments

Uh oh, secret’s out of the bag.

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